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Heroes, Inc. #5
A Burning Obsession
A Burning Obsession by Susan Kearney released on May 25, 2004 is available now for purchase.
249 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
66 people want to read
About the author
Susan Kearney
119 books129 followersSusan Kearney used to set herself on fire four times a day, now a USA TODAY—BESTSELLING author, she does something really hot—she writes paranormal romance and romantic suspense for Tor. She can apply the old rule of "write what you know" and never run out of ideas for characters and plots. An All-American and professional diver, expert in martial arts, sailor, real estate broker and owner of a barter business as well as women's fitness and three hair salons, she has enough material for a lifetime.
Kearney, a native of New Jersey, writes full time and has sold books to the industries' top publishing houses — Grand Central, Tor, Simon & Schuster, Harlequin, Berkley, Leisure, Red Sage and Kensington. As an award winning author, Kearney earned a Business Degree from the University of Michigan. Kearney's knowledge and experience spans throughout the romance genre, and her fifty plus books include contemporary, romantic suspense, historical, futuristic, science fiction and paranormal novels. She resides in a suburb of Tampa—with her husband, kids and Boston terrier. Currently she's plotting her way through her 54th work of fiction.
Kearney, a native of New Jersey, writes full time and has sold books to the industries' top publishing houses — Grand Central, Tor, Simon & Schuster, Harlequin, Berkley, Leisure, Red Sage and Kensington. As an award winning author, Kearney earned a Business Degree from the University of Michigan. Kearney's knowledge and experience spans throughout the romance genre, and her fifty plus books include contemporary, romantic suspense, historical, futuristic, science fiction and paranormal novels. She resides in a suburb of Tampa—with her husband, kids and Boston terrier. Currently she's plotting her way through her 54th work of fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 16, 2010
I chose this book in part because the cover touted the author as a "USA Today bestselling author." And I wanted a good steamy read. And I was in my favorite used bookstore, so the book was half price. A great deal, right? Wrong.
This book features a stupidly contrived set-up, a hero who ought to be in jail for not one, but two, sexual assaults on the heroine in the first fifty pages, a heroine who has butter for brains, and a re-imagining of the laws of physics.
Kimberly Hayward, a production assistant at Simitar [sic—yes, I know it’s spelled wrong:] Studios, has written a script about a series of heists of historical artifacts. Her boss says that he is interested in producing the script--but only if she authenticates that all of the heists can be performed as written. Contrived set-up. Yes, because all movie producers require script writers to personally act out their scripts before hand. Sheesh. But off she goes to Great Britain to play amateur thief.
Unfortunately for Kimberly, (before the book starts) she gets caught by U.S. Customs going through security somewhere with rocks concealed in a padded bra. She is not arrested, but the ever-suspicious U.S. government decides that she needs to be surveilled and outsources the job to the Shey Group. Enter Jason Parker, former jewel thief pressed into service by Shey Group. Jason is also a walking hard-on for most of this book. How attractive.
In the opening scenes at a library, Jason watches Kimberly’s movements on the security cameras. Now, unlike most institutions who value not getting sued, the library in question has installed a security camera in the women’s bathroom. Yes, the bathroom. Jason's Peeping Tom tendencies are thwarted only because the camera does not have a view into the stall Kimberly uses to change clothes. After getting into her disguise, she examines a rare book and appears, to Jason’s eyes, to rip a page from it. Promptly He leaves the security office and confronts her.
How does he confront her? Good question. He grabs her as she walks down a hallway and pulls her into a dark corner. Then he proceeds to hold her too close, call her “doll baby” (yeah, I almost retched at that one), and feel her up, running his hands over her bra looking for the secret compartment in it. Ms. Butter-for-Brains, AKA Kimberly, thinks maybe she ought to scream (ya think?), but then mentally refers to Jason as Mr. Too-Beautiful, Mr. Gorgeous, and Mr. Pretty-Blue-Eyes and does nothing. I guess sexual assault is OK if the guy is cute.
Taking a short commercial break here…I have read two books by this author, and in both books, the male characters force sexual attentions on the female characters. Why does the author think this is romantic or even acceptable?
Jason promptly joins Kimberly’s tour group. Someone is trying to set Kimberly up for the thefts she is only pretending to commit, and Jason must save her. His first act is to jump naked into a bathtub with her so that he can conceal her library disguise (the clothes are under the bubbles) from the police who are about to search her room.
The plot goes downhill from there.
The re-imagining of the laws of physics comes when Jason supposedly looses a computer virus on a security system through an electrical outlet. This may sound great in fiction-land, but in the real world, it strains the credulity of anyone who knows even the first thing about how AC power works. No, it doesn’t just strain the credulity, it breaks it in two and tosses it away.
So Jason and Kimberly must figure out who is trying to frame her and why. They do so in the end, and boink each other happily along the way.
And the act of boinking brings up the final stupidity in this. Kimberly’s boss has asked her to add several REALLY HOT love scenes to the script. Poor Kimberly thinks that although she has a vivid imagination, she just “can’t get in the mood” to write them. Later on, she thinks that she has “no idea what to write….” Poor dear, use your imagination. That’s what being a writer is all about. Jason has thoroughly snooped through Kimberly’s notes about changes to the script, so he knows that she wants to find a man to “help” her. He lies and tells her that her boss sent him—to help her. *wink* *wink* And she buys it. I’d say it was social Darwinism in action, but both main characters survive to the end of the book and live happily ever after.
Best to spend your money on something else.
This book features a stupidly contrived set-up, a hero who ought to be in jail for not one, but two, sexual assaults on the heroine in the first fifty pages, a heroine who has butter for brains, and a re-imagining of the laws of physics.
Kimberly Hayward, a production assistant at Simitar [sic—yes, I know it’s spelled wrong:] Studios, has written a script about a series of heists of historical artifacts. Her boss says that he is interested in producing the script--but only if she authenticates that all of the heists can be performed as written. Contrived set-up. Yes, because all movie producers require script writers to personally act out their scripts before hand. Sheesh. But off she goes to Great Britain to play amateur thief.
Unfortunately for Kimberly, (before the book starts) she gets caught by U.S. Customs going through security somewhere with rocks concealed in a padded bra. She is not arrested, but the ever-suspicious U.S. government decides that she needs to be surveilled and outsources the job to the Shey Group. Enter Jason Parker, former jewel thief pressed into service by Shey Group. Jason is also a walking hard-on for most of this book. How attractive.
In the opening scenes at a library, Jason watches Kimberly’s movements on the security cameras. Now, unlike most institutions who value not getting sued, the library in question has installed a security camera in the women’s bathroom. Yes, the bathroom. Jason's Peeping Tom tendencies are thwarted only because the camera does not have a view into the stall Kimberly uses to change clothes. After getting into her disguise, she examines a rare book and appears, to Jason’s eyes, to rip a page from it. Promptly He leaves the security office and confronts her.
How does he confront her? Good question. He grabs her as she walks down a hallway and pulls her into a dark corner. Then he proceeds to hold her too close, call her “doll baby” (yeah, I almost retched at that one), and feel her up, running his hands over her bra looking for the secret compartment in it. Ms. Butter-for-Brains, AKA Kimberly, thinks maybe she ought to scream (ya think?), but then mentally refers to Jason as Mr. Too-Beautiful, Mr. Gorgeous, and Mr. Pretty-Blue-Eyes and does nothing. I guess sexual assault is OK if the guy is cute.
Taking a short commercial break here…I have read two books by this author, and in both books, the male characters force sexual attentions on the female characters. Why does the author think this is romantic or even acceptable?
Jason promptly joins Kimberly’s tour group. Someone is trying to set Kimberly up for the thefts she is only pretending to commit, and Jason must save her. His first act is to jump naked into a bathtub with her so that he can conceal her library disguise (the clothes are under the bubbles) from the police who are about to search her room.
The plot goes downhill from there.
The re-imagining of the laws of physics comes when Jason supposedly looses a computer virus on a security system through an electrical outlet. This may sound great in fiction-land, but in the real world, it strains the credulity of anyone who knows even the first thing about how AC power works. No, it doesn’t just strain the credulity, it breaks it in two and tosses it away.
So Jason and Kimberly must figure out who is trying to frame her and why. They do so in the end, and boink each other happily along the way.
And the act of boinking brings up the final stupidity in this. Kimberly’s boss has asked her to add several REALLY HOT love scenes to the script. Poor Kimberly thinks that although she has a vivid imagination, she just “can’t get in the mood” to write them. Later on, she thinks that she has “no idea what to write….” Poor dear, use your imagination. That’s what being a writer is all about. Jason has thoroughly snooped through Kimberly’s notes about changes to the script, so he knows that she wants to find a man to “help” her. He lies and tells her that her boss sent him—to help her. *wink* *wink* And she buys it. I’d say it was social Darwinism in action, but both main characters survive to the end of the book and live happily ever after.
Best to spend your money on something else.
January 3, 2020
In the fourth book of the Heroes Inc. series, Kimberly Hayward is a Hollywood screenwriter who’s so close to signing her erotic/thriller heist script to a movie director. Her research vacation to the UK is twofold: she needs to make sure the items that are being stolen in the script could really be stolen in real life, and she needs to figure out how to add in the erotic elements the director wants. She’s having a blast playing the “spy” and sneaking into a library to steal a page from an important historical book, but she didn’t expect that a real spy would be watching her.
In truth, Jason Parker is a professional jewel thief wanted in several countries, but he owes a favor to a secretive agency called the Shey Group. The Shey caught him a while back but didn’t turn him over to the authorities, so he agreed to watch Kimberly to figure out if she’s a real spy. His gut tells him she’s innocent, but when the items she’s investigating actually go missing, he wonders if her innocence is all an act.
I love the plot but found it a little confusing. Kimberly is a determined, stubborn woman, but she’s uptight and naïve. She continuously debated about whether or not to like, trust, and sleep with Jason. Her internal thoughts and dialogue grew repetitive. Jason is charming, persuasive, and very light-fingered when it comes to snatching jewels and opening Kimberly’s blouse without her knowing. My confusion stemmed from the heist. I just couldn’t understand how Jason knew so much with so little explanation to how he figured it all out.
There are a few unanswered questions. Mainly: how did the actual thief manage to steal the items when he wasn’t a professional?
Also, the scene with Jason and Kimberly in the hot tub was sooooo hot, but unrealistic. Police officers would never let a naked couple play around in a bubble bath while they searched the bedroom for a stolen artifact. Other than that, the book was very realistic, in my opinion, and made for a fun heist story.
Anyway, I liked the book and would like to read more from this author.
3.5 Stars
In truth, Jason Parker is a professional jewel thief wanted in several countries, but he owes a favor to a secretive agency called the Shey Group. The Shey caught him a while back but didn’t turn him over to the authorities, so he agreed to watch Kimberly to figure out if she’s a real spy. His gut tells him she’s innocent, but when the items she’s investigating actually go missing, he wonders if her innocence is all an act.
I love the plot but found it a little confusing. Kimberly is a determined, stubborn woman, but she’s uptight and naïve. She continuously debated about whether or not to like, trust, and sleep with Jason. Her internal thoughts and dialogue grew repetitive. Jason is charming, persuasive, and very light-fingered when it comes to snatching jewels and opening Kimberly’s blouse without her knowing. My confusion stemmed from the heist. I just couldn’t understand how Jason knew so much with so little explanation to how he figured it all out.
There are a few unanswered questions. Mainly: how did the actual thief manage to steal the items when he wasn’t a professional?
Also, the scene with Jason and Kimberly in the hot tub was sooooo hot, but unrealistic. Police officers would never let a naked couple play around in a bubble bath while they searched the bedroom for a stolen artifact. Other than that, the book was very realistic, in my opinion, and made for a fun heist story.
Anyway, I liked the book and would like to read more from this author.
3.5 Stars
June 16, 2012
I originally gave this book more stars, but having re-read it, I lowered my rating to two. If you're looking for a quick beach read with a little sex thrown in, this is a book for you. However, I must've been hard-up the first time I read it...this time around, I couldn't get past the creepy parts. This is one of Kearney's HEROES INC. books. Really? Where's the hero???? The male lead (Jason) is a creepy, cocky, SOB that apparently never makes a mistake (oh, except for the ONE that leads him to this particular situation) who is bossy, demanding and always turned on; but that's ok, because he is superhuman and can turn off his lust at the flip of a switch. He's the only male in existence that has a HUGE package that is unnoticeable to those around him, except for Kimberly Hayward- a woman intelligent enough to write a screenplay, but too stupid to grab a towel the second Jason breaks into her room and begins pawing through her unmentionables (see, creepy) and in a stellar break for womankind, she has sex with a virtual stranger. Oh, it's ok...they use a condom. And SPOILER ALERT: they live happily ever after.
Also, I can't stand it when men call women "darling" because it doesn't ring true. Unless they are being condescending ("Hey, darling, how 'bout bringing big daddy a beer and pork rinds?") or grew up in the deep South and say it with a drawl (Hey, darrllliinnn'); otherwise, ewwww.
I know, I know. This is a Harlequin. It is fantasy; escapism. But this isn't. It's annoying, creepy, and the sex isn't that earth-shattering.
Also, I can't stand it when men call women "darling" because it doesn't ring true. Unless they are being condescending ("Hey, darling, how 'bout bringing big daddy a beer and pork rinds?") or grew up in the deep South and say it with a drawl (Hey, darrllliinnn'); otherwise, ewwww.
I know, I know. This is a Harlequin. It is fantasy; escapism. But this isn't. It's annoying, creepy, and the sex isn't that earth-shattering.
June 19, 2009
3 1/2 stars. A young Hollywood screenwriter, Kimberly, is traveling through the UK researching her screenplay on museum heists by pretending to steal the real items. Her actions bring her under suspicion, and she is put under surveillance by a former jewel thief who is working for a covert spy group. This was a very interesting story, the characters well drawn out, the dialogue witty, the passion real. Recommended.
May 14, 2016
A fun quick read
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews